FORD’S NEW ‘SEND TO SYNC’ SERVICE LETS USERS BEAM DESTINATIONS FROM MAPQUEST TO CAR

FORD’S NEW “˜SEND TO SYNC’ SERVICE LETS USERS BEAM DESTINATIONS FROM MAPQUEST TO CAR

Ford adds more capability to SYNC® Traffic, Direction & Information app with ‘Send to SYNC’ feature allowing drivers to visit leading mapping Web site MapQuest and have a destination sent to their Ford vehicle

Drivers can download the destination information into the vehicle via their mobile phones

Send to SYNC launches later this year and will be available for existing 2010 SYNC-equipped Ford vehicles, with no additional hardware or costs required

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 7, 2010 – Drivers who enjoy the convenience of Ford SYNC with Traffic, Directions & Information soon will be able to select a destination on MapQuest (owned by AOL Inc.) and send it to their Ford, Lincoln or Mercury vehicles.

The Send to SYNC feature is a new capability added to the Ford Service Delivery Network, making SYNC’s plug-and-play “cloud computing” architecture accessible through a customer’s mobile phone.

“With the enormous growth in navigation system popularity, we want to make life simpler for our customers,” said Doug VanDagens, Ford director of Connected Services Solutions. “With Send to SYNC, you can search a destination while you’re at work, at the coffee shop or home – wherever you have connectivity. When you get to your car, it already knows where you want to go. That’s the very definition of convenience.”

When users visit MapQuest to get directions, they will have the option to send a selected destination to SYNC via a “send to” menu on the site. Once in the vehicle, the driver downloads the destinations the mapping site has sent, and route guidance via the map-based navigation system (where installed) or SYNC’s voice-guided turn-by-turn directions begins.

The SYNC Traffic, Directions & Information application leverages a customer’s existing mobile phone and the vehicle’s integrated GPS receiver to connect customers to real-time turn-by-turn driving directions, traffic reports and business searches. The new Send to SYNC functionality requires no vehicle updates and will be available to all owners who have Traffic, Directions & Information installed on their vehicles.

“Send to SYNC is another key SYNC improvement, answering customer requests and keeping Ford at the forefront of in-vehicle communications,” said VanDagens. “The feature requires nothing additional to function. It eliminates the waste of printed paper directions. Most importantly, the system minimizes distraction because it provides step-by-step voice guidance, letting drivers keep their eyes on the road rather than a stack of directions or a map.”

# # #

About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 200,000 employees and about 90 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and Volvo. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford’s products, please visit www.ford.com.